Tot of Hooters mom dies in
car

By THE ASSOCIATED
PRESS

PHOENIX -- A woman has been
charged with negligent homicide after she forgot her
17-month-old son in her hot, stuffy car while she worked
her seven-hour shift as a Hooters waitress, police said
yesterday.

Ashly Duchene, 22, usually dropped
the boy off at a daycare centre on her way to work, but
for unknown reasons failed to do so on Tuesday, police
Sgt. Joel Tranter said.

Instead, she left her son, Ryan
Gallagher, in the car when she arrived at the north
Phoenix restaurant at about 10 a.m., police said. When
she returned after her shift at nearly 5 p.m., he was
dead.

Efforts to revive the boy by
witnesses, officers and firefighters were unsuccessful.
Temperatures hit nearly 32C on Tuesday, but it would
have been more than 38C inside the car, Tranter said.

'DEEPLY SADDENED'

Duchene told police she walked to
her car, unlocked the driver's door, sat in the vehicle
and immediately realized she had forgotten she had left
Ryan in the back seat.

Officials believe the boy, who was
in a car seat, was invisible to people going in and out
of the restaurant and a nearby car wash because the car
has tinted windows.

The restaurant was closed
Wednesday and was holding counselling sessions for
employees.

"Our company is deeply saddened by
this terrible tragedy," said Melanie Gulmetti, a
regional marketing manager. "Our thoughts are with the
mother and her family. We are co-operating fully with
authorities."